‘Being Black and Republican’ author speaks at NSRW

Kimberly Sutton

Published 4:35 pm, Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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Guest speaker Karen Watson (right) signs a copy of her book for Megan Metcalf at Wednesday’s North Shore Republican Women meeting. Watson is the author of “Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama.”

Guest speaker Karen Watson (right) signs a copy of her book for Megan Metcalf at Wednesday’s North Shore Republican Women meeting. Watson is the author of “Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama.”

‘Being Black and Republican’ author speaks at NSRW

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Attending the Republican National Convention in the summer of 1984 was a life-changing event for Dallas-native Karen Watson.

That’s when the young, black high school student first heard and related to the conservative values of President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush who had been nominated for re-election.

“Having met Ronald Reagan, I never once thought whether he cared if my skin was black ... or anything else,” Watson said. “He cared that I was an American and that’s all that was important.”

Today, 30 years later, Watson is the author of “Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama.”

Watson is the president and founder of www.GOPBuzz.com, an internet portal for Republican events, and is also a small business owner of a mortgage company.

When Barack Obama was first running for president, most people assumed she was voting for Obama because of the color of her skin, Watson told the members of North Shore Republican Women Wednesday at the Bentwater Country Club in Montgomery.

“Why would they think that? They know my conservative values, I’m a Christian, a business owner and a homeowner,” Watson said. “People don’t know what it means to be Republican or conservative.”

A friend suggested that she write a book about her values, being black and a Republican.

Watson tackles the myths of the Democratic Party, leaving no topic unturned.

She said that Republicans have lost their message.

“Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president,” Watson said. “The NAACP originated to be a Republican organization. It was created in honor of Abraham Lincoln (on the centennial of Lincoln’s birth).

“It was Reagan, my hero, who signed into law Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,” Watson said.

Reagan signed the day into law in 1983 and it was observed three years later.

Watson’s primary message to Republicans is to stop the division within the party and not allow President Obama to stir up racial division, she said.

“We need to stop dividing each other black, white, Hispanic, all others,” she said. “They want to divide us. We all know a house divided against itself cannot stand. The left wants us divided.”

She encouraged the attendees to be alert and to “hold on to what we got” in regards to not accepting socialism.

“People don’t understand the evils of socialism,” Watson said.

She reminded the members that “the left have deep plans to turn Texas blue.”

“What we have to do is be honest ... get re-energized, we have so much to do,” she said.

Before ending the luncheon meeting, Watson asked the audience to do three things.

“First, pray for this nation,” she said. “I mean truly pray for this nation.”

The second thing she asked was to stop the division between the people.

“From this day forward, don’t see no one as black American, white American, green American. We’re just Americans,” she said.

The last thing is for everyone to “begin today,” she said.

“Everyone you meet, just assume they are conservative. Assume that they want the same things that you want. Assume that they want liberty,” Watson said.